Philosophy and Your Career

Philosophy, more than any other discipline, instills a set of skills that will have direct application in virtually any area of employment that you might enter. As was remarked in a recent editorial in The Times:

In this age of uncertainty, when today’s vocational training may be tomorrow’s passport to redundancy, “dare to think” should be the motto pinned on the wall of every undergraduate room and recruitment agency. The great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches not what to think, but how to think. Philosophy is, in commercial jargon, the ultimate “transferable work skill”.

As was recently noted in The Guardian, the main transferable skills that will be developed through your study of Philosophy are:

• The ability to analyse problems in a multi dimensional way.

• The ability to think creatively, self critically and independently.

• Self motivation.

• The ability to work autonomously.

• Time and priority management skills.

• A flexible mind adaptable to managing change.

(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/may/01/universityguide.philosophy)

Philosophy encourages the development of core skills highly prized by employers. These include the ability to think clearly, logically, and creatively, to communicate articulately and accurately (both verbally and in writing), and to analyse critically and rigorously. Philosophy graduates are all-rounders – thoughtful, insightful, and versatile.

What kind of jobs do Philosophy graduates get?

All kinds! Philosophy graduates are highly sought after by employers because of their skills, their adaptability, and versatility, and consequently they find employment in a wide variety of industries, such as I.T., accountancy, journalism, publishing, the law, communication, management etc. According to The Higher Education Academy, for Philosophy graduates “the employability possibilities are almost limitless."

(Source: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/employability/profiles/philosophy/skills.html)

Not surprisingly, Philosophy graduates have a very high employability rate of 98.9% - one of the highest of any discipline.

View the guide “Where next? Unlocking the potential of your Philosophy degree”

Read the article “I think therefore I earn” from The Guardian, 20 November 2007